Gender Equality India Project #18750

Empower 5000 drop out Adolescent Girls in Lucknow

by Sarathi Development Foundation

Empower 5000 drop out Adolescent Girls in Lucknow

Project Report | Jan 8, 2016
Engaging, Encouraging and Empowering

By Akhilesh Tewari | Project Leader

Recalling her being out of school and parents decision about marriage, Rehnuma, 15 years old adolescent girl living in Barfkhana slum, is happy with changes she has witnesses due to project intervention supported by Global Giving. She was enrolled in community resource centre for life skills and girl’s friendly opportunities in April 2015.She learnt about risks of early marriage and also gain the confidence to express her issues desire. She discussed with counsellor and other girls participating in life skill centre and group meetings about her choices including rejoining of school and not marrying at this stage. She also communicated to her parents about her desires. Counsellor and community volunteer visited her house and motivated her parents. It resulted into reenrolment of Rehnuma in and postponing her marriage. She feels happy with this new pathway of her life.

Rehnuma is not the only adolescent girl who faces such life challenges in slums. There are many suffering in multiple ways such as early marriage, confinement to domestic works, limited access to formal education, restricted life choices in given social, economic and cultural prejudices. The project carries a mix of behavioural change communication, basic life skills, individual & collective planning, convergence with services required for empowerment of adolescent girls in poverty stricken slums in Lucknow district of Uttar Pradesh in India.

It has directly impacted 695 adolescent girls and 1800 families through life skills centres, adolescent girls groups, behavioural change communication, health camp and linkages with government service provisions in 15 slums. 49 adolescent girls have received livelihood skills and 47 are mainstreamed with formal education. While directly engaging with adolescent girls especially school drop outs, 33 community volunteers, 30 adolescent girls groups and 18 mothers groups have been developed in 15 slums for behaviour change communication, feedback and convergence to improve conditions of adolescent girls. Key areas of life skills include communication, decision making, self expression, participatory planning, aspirations mapping and roles, physical, emotional and mental changes during adolescence age, reproductive health,nutrtion,hygienic behaviours, girls rights, entitlements & service provisions, financial and legal aspects, menstrual hygiene management.

We are grateful to all our donros and supporters for helping vulnerable adolscent girls, their families and communities and building their future.

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Oct 8, 2015
Educating,Empowering & Encouraging adolescent girls

By Surya pratap singh | Project executive

Happy faces all around

We express our sincere thanks and gratitude to Global Giving UK and our socially conscious donors for supporting most disadvntaged adolscent girls in Lucknow district of Uttar pradesh (India). We started with enrollment of 210 adolscent girls in age group of 10 to 19 years facing stagnation and deprivations in their life due to mutiple reasons including self awareness & actulisation, social relationship & mobility, gender based descrimantion, domestic violence, social behaviours, lack of skills, knowledge etc. Our interventions such as life skills development, plateforms for participation to identify their needs and develop solutions and mainstreaming with government service provisions, have started to demonstrate impact on their life.Our pre and post tests related to life skills imparted among them indicate that the level of awareness and skill set development among them is quite progressive and we are very much optimistic about a positive change in their life;as a result of opportunities provideded to them with your support nearly 50 dropout gilrs are back to the schools , 30 girls have started taking sessions on different types of small income generating skills like; stitching, beautician etc. and also they are demanding for their rights like pure water,clean road, road lights in their society from the government service providers. Moving one step ahead now Sarathi will also be focusing on developing 21st century skill sets in them like, computer operation and english among them. These 210 girls directly trained under this project are acting as a change maker in their own slum, and with their help we have reached approximately 500 families and more than 1000 adolescent girls in slum areas and making their life a better life. Now the families are also supporting their moment in the community and are helping them in their issues like; gong to school , marriage after legal age, aspirations.

lets learn together

Activity session in CRC

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Aug 28, 2015
Laughter, Learning and Self-Confidence

By Jessie Levine | Field Evaluation Programme Volunteer

With the adolescent girls

It has been my pleasure to visit the Saloni Model of the Sarathi Development Foundation. Currently working in 400 slums in the City of Lucknow, the impact is widespread in every community they work in. Not only are the adolescent girls impacted by the knowledge they are gaining, but their families are supporting the steps they are taking to improve their own health and the community around them.

Young girls, who were once afraid to leave their homes and were very shy are now making friends and openly expressing themselves to their peers and elders. These young adults are now holding meetings in the public and speaking openly about family planning, child marriage, self-esteem, and sanitation. All thirty young women who participated and met at the Community Resource Centers are taking iron supplements for their previously undiagnosed anemia and are all up to date on vaccinations. Ten young adults who had once dropped out of school, are now returning to their studies, despite the shame that she had once felt in returning to school. Many of the girls voiced that they want to wait until age 18 or later to get married and they are encouraging their families to construct separate hand-washing facilities in their homes. Many of the participants in this center have enrolled in vocational training courses in garment making, embroidery and beauty, in addition to their education.

These young ladies have gained such pride and have become key stakeholders of their community. In addition, the physical environment of the slum in which they live is changing as they are advocating for greater government resources.

It was a pleasure to sit in unison with these young ladies and the community volunteers who lead the learning and empowerment trainings at the Community Resource Centers.

This work is of utmost importance and I could not be more supportive!

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